Method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving feedback information in mobile communication system using multiple antennas

ABSTRACT

A method and an apparatus for transmitting/receiving feedback in a mobile communication system are provided. A method of configuring and receiving feedback information of an evolved Node B (eNB) includes transmitting configuration information on a plurality of reference signals including a first reference signal and a second reference signal to a User Equipment (UE); transmitting feedback configuration information including first feedback configuration information on the first reference signal and second feedback configuration information configured such that feedback information on the second reference signal is generated with reference to the first feedback configuration information to the UE; transmitting the reference signal to the UE according to the configuration information on the reference signal; and receiving feedback information including first feedback information according to the first feedback configuration information and second feedback information according to the second feedback configuration information from the UE.

PRIORITY

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/193,741, which was filed on Feb. 28, 2014 andwhich claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) to Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2013-0021903, which was filed in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office on Feb. 28, 2013, the entire contents ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to a wireless mobilecommunication system, and more particularly, to a method oftransmitting/receiving channel status information in which a UserEquipment (UE) measures channel quality (wireless channel status) andinforms an evolved Node B (eNB) of a measurement result in a wirelessmobile communication system applying a multi-access scheme using amulti-carrier, such as an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access(OFDMA) scheme.

2. Description of the Related Art

A current mobile communication system has been developed to a high speedand high quality wireless packet data communication system to provide adata service and a multimedia service in addition to providing aninitial service mainly based on a voice service. An evolved 3rdGeneration mobile communication system standard employing a multipleaccess scheme using a multi-carrier is progressed by variousstandardization organizations, such as 3rd Generation PartnershipProject (3GPP), 3GPP2, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers(IEEE), and the like. Recently, various mobile communication standardsincluding Long Term Evolution (LTE) of 3GPP, Ultra Mobile Broadband(UMB) of 3GPP2, 802.16m of IEEE and the like have been developed tosupport a high speed and high quality wireless packet data transmissionservice based on the multiple access scheme using the multi-carrier.

The evolved 3rd Generation mobile communication systems, such as LTE,UMB, 802.16m, and the like, are based on a multi-carrier multiple accessscheme, apply beam-forming to improve a transmission efficiency, and usevarious technologies including an Adaptive Modulation and Coding (AMC)method, a channel sensitive scheduling method, and the like. The varioustechnologies improve system capacity performance by improving thetransmission efficiency through a method of concentrating transmissionpower transmitted from a plurality of antennas or controlling an amountof transmitted data according to channel quality and selectivelytransmitting data to a user having better channel quality. Since most ofsuch schemes are performed based on channel status information betweenan evolved Node B (eNB) (or Base Station (BS)) and a User Equipment (UE)(or a Mobile Station (MS)), the eNB or the UE is required to measure achannel status between the eNB and the UE. A Channel Status IndicationReference Signal (CSI-RS) is used for measuring the channel status. Theaforementioned eNB refers to a downlink transmission device and anuplink reception device located at a predetermined location, and one eNBperforms transmission/reception for a plurality of cells. In one mobilecommunication system, a plurality of eNBs are geographically distributedand each of the eNBs performs transmission/reception of a plurality ofcells.

Existing 3rd and 4th Generation mobile communication systems such asLTE/LTE-A use a Multi Input Multi Output (MIMO) technique of performingtransmission by using a plurality of transmission/reception antennas inorder to expand a data transmission rate and system capacity. The MIMOtechnique transmits a plurality of information streams spatiallydivided, by using a plurality of transmission/reception antennas. Asdescribed above, transmission of the plurality of information streamsspatially divided is referred to as spatial multiplexing. In general, anumber of information streams to which the spatial multiplexing can beapplied varies depending on a number of antennas of a transmitter and areceiver. Information on the number of information streams to which thespatial multiplexing can be applied is generally referred to as a rankof corresponding transmission. The MIMO technique supported by theLTE/LTE-A Release 11 standard supports spatial multiplexing in a casewhere each of transmission and reception antennas is 8 and maximallysupports rank 8.

However, when a plurality of transmission/reception antennas exist,large resources are consumed in measuring and reporting channel statusesbetween antennas of the transmitter and the receiver, so that a solutionto the above problem is required.

SUMMARY

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems anddisadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below.

Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention is to provide a methodand an apparatus in which the UE measures an RS, generates channelstatus information, and transmits the channel status information toeffectively transmit/receive data in Full Dimension MIMO (FD-MIMO)transmission/reception based on the LTE-A system.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method and anapparatus in which the eNB transmits an RS to the UE and receiveschannel status information transmitted by the UE.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a method ofconfiguring and receiving feedback information of an evolved Node B(eNB) in a mobile communication system is provided. The method includestransmitting configuration information on a plurality of referencesignals including a first reference signal and a second reference signalto a User Equipment (UE); transmitting feedback configurationinformation including first feedback configuration information on thefirst reference signal and second feedback configuration informationconfigured such that feedback information on the second reference signalis generated with reference to the first feedback configurationinformation to the UE; transmitting the reference signals to the UEaccording to the configuration information on the reference signals; andreceiving feedback information including first feedback informationaccording to the first feedback configuration information and secondfeedback information according to the second feedback configurationinformation from the UE.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method oftransmitting feedback information of a User Equipment (UE) in a mobilecommunication system is provided. The method includes receivingconfiguration information on a plurality of reference signals includinga first reference signal and a second reference signal from an evolvedNode B (eNB); receiving feedback configuration information includingfirst feedback configuration information on the first reference signaland second feedback configuration information configured such thatfeedback information on the second reference signal is generated withreference to the first feedback configuration information from the eNB;receiving the reference signals from the eNB according to theconfiguration information on the reference signals; and transmittingfeedback information including first feedback information according tothe first feedback configuration information and second feedbackinformation according to the second feedback configuration informationto the eNB.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, an evolvedNode B (eNB) receiving feedback information in a mobile communicationsystem is provided. The eNB includes a transceiver fortransmitting/receiving a signal to/from a User Equipment (UE); and acontroller for controlling to transmit configuration information on aplurality of reference signals including a first reference signal and asecond reference signal to a User Equipment (UE), transmit feedbackconfiguration information including first feedback configurationinformation on the first reference signal and second feedbackconfiguration information configured such that feedback information onthe second reference signal is generated with reference to the firstfeedback configuration information to the UE, transmit the referencesignals to the UE according to the configuration information on thereference signals, and receives feedback information including firstfeedback information according to the first feedback configurationinformation and second feedback information according to the secondfeedback configuration information from the UE, and process the receivedfeedback information.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a UserEquipment (UE) transmitting feedback information in a mobilecommunication system is provided. The UE includes a transceiver fortransmitting/receiving a signal to/from an evolved Node B (eNB); and acontroller for controlling to receive configuration information on aplurality of reference signals including a first reference signal and asecond reference signal from eNB, receive feedback configurationinformation including first feedback configuration information on thefirst reference signal and second feedback configuration informationconfigured such that feedback information on the second reference signalis generated with reference to the first feedback configurationinformation from the eNB, receive the reference signals from the eNBaccording to the configuration information on the reference signals, andtransmit feedback information including first feedback informationaccording to the first feedback configuration information and secondfeedback information according to the second feedback configurationinformation to the eNB.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other aspects, features and advantages of certainembodiments of the present invention will become more apparent from thefollowing detailed description when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an FD-MIMO system;

FIG. 2 illustrates radio resources of one subframe and one ResourceBlock (RB) corresponding to a minimum unit which can be scheduled to thedownlink in an LTE/LTE-A system;

FIGS. 3 to 6 illustrate feedback timings according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates CSI-RS transmission for FD-MIMO;

FIG. 8 illustrates a feedback method in which a UE transmits each of anRI, PMI, and CQI for two CSI-RSs;

FIG. 9 illustrates a method in which a UE transmits an RI, PMI, and CQIfor two CSI-RSs through aperiodic feedback according to a firstembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 illustrates a method in which a UE transmits an RI, PMI, and CQIfor two CSI-RSs through periodic feedback according to a secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an order of operations of an eNBaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an order of operations of a UEaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an internal structure of a UEaccording to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating an internal structure of an eNBaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the followingdescription of the present invention, a detailed description of knownfunctions or configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when itmay make the subject matter of the present invention unclear. Meanwhile,terms described herein are defined in consideration of the functions ofthe present specification, but the meaning of the terms may be changedaccording to a user, intention of an operator, or convention. Therefore,the definition needs to be determined based on the overall contents ofthe present specification.

Further, the detailed description of embodiments of the presentinvention is made mainly based on a wireless communication system basedon OFDM, particularly a 3GPP EUTRA standard, but the subject matter ofthe present invention can be applied to other communication systemshaving a similar technical background and channel form after a littlemodification without departing from the scope of the present invention,and the above can be determined by those skill in the art.

Hereinafter, although a Channel Status Information Reference Signal (CSIRS) which an eNode B (eNB) transmits to a User Equipment (UE) will bedescribed as an example, the present invention is not limited theretoand may include all types of signals, RSs and the like which can measurea channel status.

The technique provided by the present invention is applied to a FullDimension Multiple Input Multiple Output (FD-MIMO) system. The FD-MIMOsystem corresponds to a system using 32 or more transmission antennasevolved from a conventional Long Term Evolution/Long TermEvolution-Advanced (LTE/LTE-A) MIMO technique using 8 antennas.

The FD-MIMO system refers to a wireless communication system in whichdata is transmitted using scores of transmission antennas.

FIG. 1 illustrates the FD-MIMO system.

In FIG. 1, an eNB transmission device 100 transmits wireless signals toscores of transmission antennas. The plurality of transmission antennasare located a minimum distance from each other as indicated by referencenumeral 110. An example of the minimum distance includes a half of awavelength of the wireless signal. In general, when a distancecorresponding to the half of the wavelength of the wireless signal ismaintained between the transmission antennas, a signal transmitted fromeach transmission antenna is influenced by a wireless channel having lowcorrelation. When a band of the transmitted wireless signal is 2 GHz,the distance is 7.5 cm. In general, as the band becomes higher, thedistance becomes shorter.

In FIG. 1, the scores of transmission antennas located in the eNB 100are used when one or more UEs transmit signals as indicated by referencenumerals 120 and 130. Proper precodings are applied to a plurality oftransmission antennas, and thus the plurality of transmission antennassimultaneously transmit signals to a plurality of UEs. At this time, oneUE can receive one or more information streams. In general, a number ofinformation streams which one UE can receive is determined by a numberof reception antennas belonging to the UE and channel statuses.

In order to effectively implement the FD-MIMO system, the UE is requiredto accurately measure a channel status and an interference size andtransmit effective channel status information to the eNB. The eNB havingreceived the channel status information determines which UEs receivesignals, which data transmission rate is used, and which precoding isapplied with regard to downlink transmission through the use of thereceived channel status information. In the FD-MIMO system, when aconventional channel status information transmitting/receiving method ofthe LTE/LTE-A system is applied, since a number of transmission antennasis large, an uplink overhead problem in which a large amount of controlinformation should be transmitted to the uplink is created.

The mobile communication system has limited time, frequency, and powerresources. Accordingly, when many more resources are allocated to theRSs, resources which can be allocated to traffic channels (data trafficchannels) are reduced, thereby reducing an absolute amount oftransmitted data. In this event, channel measurement and estimationcapabilities are improved, but an absolute amount of transmitted data isreduced, and thus overall system capacity performance may be ratherreduced.

Accordingly, a proper distribution is required between resources for theRS and resources for the signal of traffic channel transmission toacquire optimal performance in terms of the overall system capacity.

FIG. 2 illustrates a radio resource of one subframe and one ResourceBlock (RB) corresponding to a minimum unit which can be scheduled to thedownlink in the LTE/LTE-A system.

The radio resource illustrated in FIG. 2 consists of one subframe on atime axis and one RB on a frequency axis. The radio resource consists of12 subcarriers in a frequency domain and 14 OFDM symbols in a timedomain, and thus has a total of 168 inherent frequency and timelocations. In LTE/LTE-A, each of the inherent frequency and timelocations in FIG. 2 is referred to as a Resource Element (RE).

In the radio resource illustrated in FIG. 2, a plurality of differenttypes of signals below may be transmitted.

1. Cell Specific RS (CRS): CRS refers to an RS periodically transmittedto all UEs included in one cell and may be used by a plurality of UEs incommon.

2. DeModulation RS (DMRS): DMRS refers to an RS transmitted to aspecific UE and is transmitted only when data is transmitted to thecorresponding UE. The DMRS may include a total of 8 DMRS ports. InLTE/LTE-A, port 7 to port 14 correspond to DMRS ports and the ports keeporthogonality by using CDM or DMF not to generate interference.

3. Physical Downlink Shared CHannel (PDSCH): PDSCH is used when the BStransmits traffic to the UE through a data channel transmitted to thedownlink and is transmitted using an RE where the RS is not transmittedin a data region of FIG. 2.

4. Channel Status Information RS (CSI-RS): CSI-RS refers to an RStransmitted to UEs included in one cell and is used for measuringchannel statuses. A plurality of CSI-RSs may be transmitted in one cell.

5. Other control channels (PHICH, PCFICH, and PDCCH): these channelsprovide control information required when the UE receives the PDSCH ortransmits ACK/NACK for operating HARQ with respect to uplink datatransmission.

In addition to the above signals, the LTE-A system may set muting inorder to allow UEs in the corresponding cell to receive the CSI-RSswhich another eNB transmits without any interference. The muting may beapplied to a location where the CSI-RS can be transmitted and the UEgenerally hops the corresponding radio resource and receives a trafficsignal. In the LTE-A system, the muting may also be referred to as azero-power CSI-RS. The muting is applied to a location of the CSI-RS dueto the nature of the muting since transmission power is not transmitted.

In FIG. 2, the CSI-RSs may be transmitted using some of locationsindicated by A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, and J based on a number ofantennas transmitting the CSI-RSs. Further, the muting may be applied tosome of the locations indicated by A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, and J.Particularly, the CSI-RSs may be transmitted to 2, 4, or 8 REs accordingto a number of antenna ports transmitting the CSI-RSs. In FIG. 2, theCSI-RSs are transmitted to a half of a specific pattern when the numberof antenna ports is 2, the CSI-RSs are transmitted to the entirety ofthe specific pattern when the number of antenna ports is 4, and theCSI-RSs are transmitted using two patterns when the number of antennaports is 8. In the case of muting, always one pattern unit is made. Thatis, the muting may be applied to a plurality of patterns, but cannot beapplied to only a part of one pattern when the muting does not overlapthe CSI-RS. However, only when the location of the CSI-RS and thelocation of the muting overlap each other, the muting may be applied toa part of one pattern.

When CSI-RSs for two antenna ports are transmitted, the CSI-RSs transmitsignals of the respective antenna ports in two REs connected to eachother and the signals of the respective antenna ports are distinguishedby an orthogonal code. Further, when CSI-RSs for four antenna ports aretransmitted, in addition to the CSI-RSs for the two antenna ports,signals for additional two antenna ports are transmitted in the same wayas the above by using additional two REs. A case where CSI-RSs for 8antenna ports are transmitted is the same as the above description.

In a cellular system, an RS is transmitted to measure a downlink channelstatus. In an LTE-A system of 3GPP, the UE measures a channel statusbetween the UE and the eNB by using a CRS or a Channel StatusInformation RS (CSI-RS) transmitted from the eNB. The channel statusshould basically consider several factors including an interferenceamount in the downlink. The interference amount in the downlink includesan interference signal and thermal noise generated by antennas includedin adjacent eNBs, and they are important to determine a downlink channelstatus by the UE. For example, when an eNB having one transmissionantenna transmits the RS to a UE having one reception antenna, the UE isrequired to decide Es/Io by determining energy per symbol which the eNBcan receive in the downlink from the received RS and an interferenceamount simultaneously received in a section where the correspondingsymbol is received. The determined Es/Io is converted to a datatransmission rate or a value corresponding thereto and transmitted tothe eNB in a form of a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI). Then, the eNBmay determine a data transmission rate at which the eNB performstransmission to the UE in the downlink.

In the LTE-A system, the UE feeds back information on a downlink channelstatus to the eNB to allow the eNB to use the fed back information forscheduling. That is, the UE measures an RS which the eNB transmits inthe downlink and feeds back information extracted from the measured RSto the eNB in a form defined by the LTE/LTE-A standard. Information fedback by the UE in LTE/LTE-A may be largely divided into the followingthree pieces of information.

-   -   Rank Indicator (RI): RI refers to a number of spatial layers        which the UE can receive in a current channel status    -   Precoder Matrix Indicator (PMI): PMI refers to an indicator of a        precoding matrix which the UE prefers in a current channel        status.    -   Channel Quality Indicator (CQI): CQI refers to a maximum data        rate at which the UE can perform reception in a current channel        status. The CQI may be replaced with a Signal to Interference        and Noise Ratio (SINR), a maximum error correction coding rate        and modulation scheme, and a data efficiency per frequency which        can be used similarly to a maximum data transmission rate.

The RI, PMI, and CQI have meanings associated with each other. Forexample, the precoding matrix supported by LTE/LTE-A is differentlydefined according to each rank. Accordingly, X corresponding to a valueof the PMI when the RI has a value of 1 and X corresponding to a valueof the PMI when the RI has a value of 2 are differently interpreted.Further, it is assumed that the PMI and the X reported to the eNB by theUE are applied in the eNB when the UE determines the CQI. That is,reporting RI_X, PMI_Y, and CQI_Z to the eNB by the UE corresponds toreporting that the corresponding UE can perform reception at a datatransmission rate corresponding to CQI_Z when the rank is RI_X and theprecoding is PMI_Y. As described above, in calculating the CQI, the UEconsiders which transmission scheme is used for the eNB, and optimalperformance can be acquired when actual transmission is performed usingthe corresponding transmission scheme.

In LTE/LTE-A, periodic feedback of the UE may be set as one feedbackmode of the following four modes according to which information isincluded.

1. Reporting mode 1-0: RI, wideband CQI (wCQI)

2. Reporting mode 1-1: RI, wCQI, PMI

3. Reporting mode 2-0: RI, wCQI, subband CQI (sCQI)

4. Reporting mode 2-1: RI, wCQI, sCQI, PMI

A feedback timing of each of information on the four feedback modes isdetermined by values of N_(pd), N_(OFFSET,CQI), M_(RI), andN_(OFFSET,RI). In feedback mode 1-0, a transmission period of the wCQIis N_(pd) and a feedback timing is determined with a subframe offsetvalue of N_(OFFSET,CQI). Further, a transmission period of the RI isN_(pd)*M_(RI) and an offset is N_(OFFSET,CQI)+N_(OFFSET,RI).

FIG. 3 illustrates feedback timings of the RI and the wCQI whenN_(pd)=2, M_(RI)=2, N_(OFFSET,CQI)=1, and N_(OFFSET,RI)=−1. In FIG. 3,each timing has a subframe index.

Feedback mode 1-1 has the same feedback timing as that of feedback mode1-0, but has a difference in that the wCQI and the PMI are transmittedtogether at a transmission timing of the wCQI.

In feedback mode 2-0, a feedback period of the sCQI is N_(pd) and anoffset value is N_(OFFSET,CQI). Further, a feedback period of the wCQIis H*N_(pd) and an offset value is N_(OFFSET,CQI) which is the same asthe offset value of the sCQI. Here, H is defined as H=J*K+1. K istransmitted to a higher layer signal and J denotes a value determinedaccording to a system bandwidth.

For example, J with respect to a 10 MHz system is defined as 3. As aresult, the wCQI is transmitted once every H sCQI transmissions.Further, a period of the RI is M_(RI)*H*N_(pd) and an offset isN_(OFFSET,CQI)+N_(OFFSET,RI).

FIG. 4 illustrates feedback timings of the RI, sCQI, and wCQI whenN_(pd)=2, M_(RI)=2, J=3 (10 MHz), K=1, N_(OFFSET,CQI)=1, andN_(OFFSET,RI)=−1.

Feedback mode 2-1 has the same feedback timing as that of feedback mode2-0, but has a difference in that the wCQI and the PMI are transmittedtogether at a transmission timing of the wCQI.

The above described feedback timing corresponds to a case where a numberof CSI-RS antenna ports is less than or equal to 4. In a case of the UEreceiving the CSI-RSs for 8 antenna ports, two PMI information should befed back unlike the feedback timing. With respect to 8 CSI-RS antennaports, feedback mode 1-1 is divided into two submodes. In a firstsubmode, the RI is transmitted together with first PMI information andsecond PMI information is transmitted together with the wCQI. A feedbackperiod and an offset of the wCQI and the second PMI are defined asN_(pd) and N_(OFFSET,CQI), and a feedback period and an offset of the RIand the first PMI are defined as M_(RI)*N_(PD) andN_(OFFSET,CQI)+N_(OFFSET,RI). Here, when a precoding matrixcorresponding to the first PMI is W1 and a precoding matrixcorresponding to the second PMI is W2, the UE and the eNB shareinformation indicating that precoding matrixes which the UE prefers aredetermined as W1 and W2.

In feedback mode 2-1 for 8 CSI-SI antenna ports, feedback of PrecodingType Indicator (PTI) information is added. The PTI is fed back togetherwith the RI, and a period and an offset thereof are defined asM_(RI)*H*N_(pd) and N_(OFFSET,CQI)+N_(OFFSET,RI), respectively. When thePTI is 0, all of the first PMI, the second PMI, and the wCQI are fedback, and the wCQI and the second PMI are transmitted together at thesame timing, and a period and an offset thereof are N_(pd) andN_(OFFSET,CQI), respectively. Further, a period of the first PMI isH′*N_(pd) and an offset is N_(OFFSET,CQI). H′ is transmitted to a higherlayer signal. In contrast, when the PTI is 1, the PTI is transmittedtogether with the RI, the wCQI and the second PMI are transmittedtogether, and the sCQI is additionally fed back at a separate timing. Inthis event, the first PMI is not transmitted. A period and an offset ofthe PTI and the RI are the same as those when the PTI is 0, and the sCQIhas a period of N_(pd) and an offset of N_(OFFSET,CQI). Further, thewCQI and the second PMI are fed back with a period of H*N_(pd) and anoffset of N_(OFFSET,CQI), and H is defined equally to a case where anumber of CSI-RS antenna ports is 4.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate feedback timings when PTI=0 and PTI=1 in a casewhere N_(pd)=2, M_(RI)=2, J=3 (10 MHz), K=, H′=3, N_(OFFSET,CQI)=1, andN_(OFFSET,RI)=−1.

In general, when a number of transmission antennas is large like inFD-MIMO, CSI-RSs in proportion to the number f transmission antennasshould be transmitted. For example, when 8 transmission antennas areused in LTE/LTE-A, the eNB transmits CSI-RSs corresponding to 8-ports tothe UE to allow the UE to measure downlink channel statuses. At thistime, in transmitting the CSI-RSs corresponding to the 8-ports, the eNBuses radio resources consisting of 8 REs within one RB, such as A and Bof FIG. 2. When CSI-RS transmission of the LTE/LTE-A scheme is appliedto FD-MIMO, radio resources proportional to a number of transmissionantennas should be allocated to the CSI-RS. That is, when the number oftransmission antennas of the eNB is 128, the CSI-RSs should betransmitted using a total of 128 REs within one RB. Such a CSI-RStransmission scheme requires excessive radio resources, so that anopposite effect of reducing radio resources necessary for wireless datatransmission/reception occurs.

A method of preventing allocation of excessive radio resources when theeNB having a large number of transmission antennas transmits CSI-RSslike in FD-MIMO and allowing the UE to perform channel measurement for alarge number of transmission antennas includes a method ofN-dimensionally transmitting CSI-RSs. For example, when transmissionantennas of the eNB are arranged on a two-dimensional plane asillustrated in FIG. 1, the CSI-RSs may be two-dimensionally transmitted.

Based on such a principle, RSs which the eNB transmits to the UE may bereferred to as a first CSI-RS and a second CSI-RS. According to anembodiment of the present invention, the two types of RSs aredistinguished in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction. OneCSI-RS may be used as a horizontal CSI-RS for measuring horizontalchannel information and the other CSI-RS may be used as a verticalCSI-RS for measuring vertical channel information. Although the RSs donot have to be necessarily distinguished into a horizontal component anda vertical component to apply a principle of the present inventiondescribed below, the following description will be made based on anassumption that the RSs which the eNB transmits to the UE are thehorizontal CSI-RS and the vertical CSI-RS.

FIG. 7 illustrates CSI-RS transmission for FD-MIMO.

In FIG. 7, the eNB operating in a FD-MIMO system includes a total of 32antennas. In FIG. 7, 32 antennas 300 are indicated by A0, . . . , A3,B0, . . . , B3, C0, . . . , C3, D0, . . . , D3, E0, . . . , E3, F0, . .. , F3, G0, . . . , G3, H0, . . . , H3. The 32 antennas of FIG. 7perform transmission by two CSI-RSs. An H-CSI-RS for measuring ahorizontal channel status includes the following 8 antenna ports.

-   -   H-CSI-RS port 0: configured by a combination of antennas A0, A1,        A2, and A3    -   H-CSI-RS port 1: configured by a combination of antennas B0, B1,        B2, and B3    -   H-CSI-RS port 2: configured by a combination of antennas C0, C1,        C2, and C3    -   CSI-RS port 3: configured by a combination of antennas D0, D1,        D2, and D3    -   H-CSI-RS port 4: configured by a combination of antennas E0, E1,        E2, and E3    -   H-CSI-RS port 5: configured by a combination of antennas F0, F1,        F2, and F3    -   H-CSI-RS port 6: configured by a combination of antennas G0, G1,        G2, and G3    -   H-CSI-RS port 7: configured by a combination of antennas H0, H1,        H2, and H3

Generating one CSI-RS port by combining a plurality of antennas meansantenna virtualization and is generally made through a linearcombination of a plurality of antennas. Further, a V-CSI-RS formeasuring a vertical channel status includes the following 4 antennaports.

-   -   V-CSI-RS port 0: configured by a combination of antennas A0, B0,        C0, E0, F0, G0, and H0    -   V-CSI-RS port 1: configured by a combination of antennas A1, B1,        C1, D1, E1, F1, G1, and H1    -   V-CSI-RS port 2: configured by a combination of antennas A2, B2,        C2, D2, E2, F2, G2, and H2    -   V-CSI-RS port 3: configured by a combination of antennas A3, B3,        C3, D3, E3, F3, G3, and H3

As described above, a plurality of antennas are two-dimensionallyarranged at an M*N (vertical direction*horizontal direction) plane,FD-MIMO channels may be measured using N horizontal CSI-RS ports and Mvertical CSI-RS ports. That is, when two CSI-RSs are used, channelstatus information may be grasped using M+N CSI-RS ports for M*Ntransmission antennas. As described above, grasping information on alarger number of transmission antennas by using a smaller number ofCSI-RS ports acts as an important advantage in reducing CSI-RS overhead.In the above description, the channel information on the FD-MIMOtransmission antennas is grasped using the two CSI-RSs, and such anapproach may be equally applied to a case where K CSI-RSs are used.

In FIG. 7, 32 transmission antennas are allocated to 8 H-CSI-RS portsand 4 V-CSI-RS ports to allow the UE to measure wireless channels of theFD-MIMO system. In the above description, while the H-CSI-RS is usedwhen the UE measures information on a horizontal angle between the UEand transmission antennas of the eNB as indicated by a reference numeral310, the V-CSI-RS is used when the UE measures information on a verticalangle between the UE and transmission antennas of the eNB as indicatedby a reference numeral 320.

Meanwhile, the UE measures channel information for a plurality ofCSI-RSs transmitted as illustrated in FIG. 7, and transmits an RI, aPMI, and a CQI generated based on the CSI-RSs to the eNB, so as toinform the eNB of wireless channels of the FD-MIMO system.

FIG. 8 illustrates a feedback method in which the UE transmits each ofthe RI, the PMI, and the CQI for two CSI-RSs.

In FIG. 8, the UE receives first feedback (configuration) information(feedback 1) and second feedback (configuration) information (feedback2) corresponding to independent feedback (configuration) information onthe V-CSI-RS and the H-CSI-RS. That is, the UE measures the V-CSI-RS totransmit channel status information such as feedback 1 and measures theH-CSI-RS to transmit channel status information such as feedback 2.

The RI, the PMI, and the CQI are transmitted with correlationtherebetween. That is, in feedback 1, RI informs of which rank includesa precoding matrix designated by the PMI_(v) transmitted later. Further,when the eNB performs transmission with the rank designated by theRI_(v) and a precoding matrix of the corresponding rank designated bythe PMI_(v) is applied, the CQI_(v) corresponds to a data transmissionrate at which the UE can perform reception or a value corresponding tothe data transmission rate. In feedback 2, the RI, the PMI, and the CQIare also transmitted with correlation therebetween like in feedback 1.

In a feedback method as illustrated in FIG. 8, during a process in whichthe UE receives feedback for FD-MIMO, the UE first receives two CSI-RSresources {CSI-RS-1, CSI-RS-2} from the eNB. That is, the UE receivesthe two CSI-RSs from the eNB to be allowed to measure channels. At thistime, the UE may not identify whether each of the two CSI-RSscorresponds to the V-CSI-RS or the H-CSI-RS. Thereafter, the UE receivestwo feedback information through Radio Resource Control (RRC)information and the RRC information for feedback allocation may beformed as shown in Table 1 below.

TABLE 1 First feedback Second configuration (Feedback 1) feedbackconfiguration (Feedback 2) CSI-RS information: CSI-RS-1 CSI-RSinformation: CSI-RS-2 Reporting mode Reporting mode PMI codebookinformation PMI codebook information Etc Etc

In Table 1, RRC information on feedback 1 and RRC information onfeedback 2 are independently allocated, and PMI codebook informationrefers to information on a set of precoding matrixes which can be usedfor the corresponding feedback. When the PMI codebook information is notincluded in the RRC information for the feedback, all precoding matrixespre-defined by the standard may be recognized as being able to be usedfor the feedback. Further, other information (Etc) to be included in thefeedback allocation information shown in Table 1 may include a feedbackperiod and offset information for periodic feedback or interferencemeasurement resource information (feedback information may be reportedto the eNB periodically or aperiodically).

In one of the channel status reporting methods for FD-MIMO, a pluralityof feedback information are configured for a plurality of transmissionantennas of the FD-MIMO eNB and the UE reports channel statusinformation to the eNB through the feedback information as illustratedin FIG. 8.

Such a method has an advantage in that the UE does not require anadditional implementation in generating and reporting the channel statusinformation for FD-MIMO. In contrast, when the channel statusinformation reporting method as illustrated in FIG. 8 is used, theFD-MIMO system cannot acquire enough performance.

As described above, the reason why the FD-MIMO system cannot acquireenough performance is that the UE does not transmit a Channel QualityIndicator (CQI), which considers precoding when FD-MIMO is applied, tothe eNB through setting a plurality feedback information for a pluralityof CSI-RSs and allowing the UE to report channel status information tothe eNB alone as illustrated in FIG. 8.

This will now be described below in more detail. When a plurality oftransmission antennas are two-dimensionally arranged in the FD-MIMOsystem as illustrated in FIG. 7, vertical and horizontal precodings areall applied. That is, the UE receives a signal to which precodingscorresponding to a PMI_(H) and a PMI_(V) of FIG. 8 are simultaneouslyapplied without receiving a signal to which only one of the precodingscorresponding to the PMI_(H) and the PMI_(V) is applied. However, asillustrated in FIG. 8, when the UE reports only a CQI_(H) or a CQI_(V),which corresponds to a case where the precodings corresponding to thePMI_(H) and the PMI_(V) are separately applied, to the eNB, the eNBcannot receive a CQI corresponding to a case where all the precodingsare applied from the UE and is required to determine the CQI by itself.As described above, the eNB determines by itself the CQI correspondingto the case where all the vertical and horizontal precodings are appliedbased on the CQIs corresponding to the case where the vertical andhorizontal precodings are separately applied, which is a factor whichdeteriorates the performance of the system.

Accordingly, an embodiment of the present invention considers a methodin which the UE receives two CSI-RSs corresponding to the vertical andhorizontal directions and transmits feedback information of the CQIcorresponding to the case where all the vertical and horizontalprecodings are applied to the eNB as well as the RI, the PMI_(H), andthe PMI_(V) which are feedback information required for FD-MIMO. Thatis, the UE generates the CQI corresponding to the case where all thevertical and horizontal precodings are applied according to a methoddescribed below and feeds back the generated CQI to the eNB.

First Embodiment

FIG. 9 illustrates a method in which the UE transmits the RI, the PMI,and the CQI for two CSI-RSs through aperiodic feedback according to afirst embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 9, the feedback information of the UE is set by the eNB throughtwo feedback configurations based on two CSI-RSs as shown in a method ofTable 1, and the UE reports channel status information on the twoCSI-RSs. One of the two feedback configurations includes configurationinformation for calculating the CQI corresponding to the case where allthe vertical and horizontal precodings are applied, and thus the UE canperform feedback suitable for FD-MIMO. That is, the two feedbackconfigurations for the two CSI-RSs of the eNB according to the firstembodiment of the present invention may be configured by RRC informationas shown in Table 2 below.

TABLE 2 First feedback Second configuration (Feedback 1) feedbackconfiguration (Feedback 2) CSI-RS information: CSI-RS-1 CSI-RSinformation: CSI-RS-2 Reporting mode Reporting mode PMI codebookinformation PMI codebook information Etc FD-MIMO reference feedback:Feedback 1 Etc

The two feedback configurations of Table 2 are the same as those ofTable 1 in that the two feedback configurations are configured forCSI-RS-1 and CSI-RS-2, respectively. However, since feedback informationcorresponding to one (feedback 2) of the two feedback configurationsincludes a configuration (FD-MIMO reference feedback: Feedback 1)indicating that the feedback configuration (feedback 2) is calculatedwith reference to feedback information corresponding to the otherfeedback configuration (feedback 1), the eNB may make a setting suchthat the UE calculates and reports a part of the second feedbackinformation with reference to a part of the first feedback information.Other feedback configuration information has the meanings shown in Table1 above. That is, respective feedback information are configured forCSI-RS-1 and CSI-RS-2, and types of feedback information which the UEadditionally generates and feeds back are included as reporting orfeedback mode information. A configuration of the feedback mode may bedefined like an aperiodic feedback mode defined in LTE/LTE-A. Further,information on a set of precoding matrixes which can be used for thefeedback may be configured through PMI codebook information. Asdescribed in Table 1, when the PMI codebook information is not includedin the RRC information for the feedback information, the UE recognizesthat all defined available precoding matrixes can be used for thefeedback information.

An aperiodic feedback reporting operation of the UE of which twofeedback information are configured by the eNB through the RRCinformation as shown in Table 2 will be described with reference to FIG.9. When the UE receives aperiodic feedback triggering scheduling for thefirst feedback and the second feedback from the eNB at an n^(th)subframe, the UE reports feedback information according to the feedbackconfigurations through the PDSCH at an n+4th subframe. At this time, theUE generates and reports an RI₁, a PMI₁, and a CQI₁ which are feedbackinformation on the first feedback configuration. According to theconfiguration in Table 2, since separate feedback which the firstfeedback refers to is not configured, the PMI₁ is precoding informationon the RI₁ which is rank information corresponding to the correspondingfeedback configuration and the CQI₁ is generated and reported based onan assumption of precoding of the PMI₁ for the corresponding feedbackconfiguration. An RI₂, a PMI₂, and a CQI₁₂ which are information on thesecond feedback configuration are reported together with the informationon the first feedback configuration. According to the configuration ofTable 2 above, since the second feedback is configured to generate theCQI with reference to the first feedback information (FD-MIMO referencefeedback: Feedback 1), the PMI₂ is precoding information on the RI₂which is rank information corresponding to the second feedbackconfiguration, but CQI₁₂ is calculated and reported as the CQI (that is,CQI₁₂) corresponding to the case where all the precodings for the PMI₁and the PMI₂ are applied with reference to the PMI₁ for the firstfeedback configuration configured for the reference as well as the PMI₂for the second feedback configuration.

Here, a definition to determine the CQI corresponding to a case where aplurality of precodings are applied (that is, CQI corresponding to thecase where all the precodings for the PMI₁ and the PMI₂ are applied) isrequired. When the CQI corresponding to the case where only oneprecoding is applied is calculated, the UE calculates the CQI based onan assumption that precoding designated by the RI and the PMI reportedby the UE itself is applied to the downlink. However, in a case of theCQI₁₂ according to an embodiment of the present invention, the UEcalculates the CQI (CQI₁₂) based on an assumption that two precodings,that is, precoding 1 generated by the RI₁ and the PMI₁ and precoding 2generated by the RI₂ and the PMI₂ are simultaneously applied to thedownlink. At this time, the UE may interpret the simultaneousapplication of the two precodings as a Kronecker product. The Kroneckerproduct is defined for two matrixes below.

$\begin{matrix}{{{A \otimes B} = \begin{bmatrix}{a_{11}B} & \ldots & {a_{1\; n}B} \\\vdots & \ddots & \vdots \\{a_{m\; 1}B} & \ldots & {a_{mn}B}\end{bmatrix}}{{where},\; {A = \begin{bmatrix}a_{11} & \ldots & a_{1\; n} \\\vdots & \ddots & \vdots \\a_{m\; 1} & \ldots & a_{mn}\end{bmatrix}}}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

In Equation (1), precoding corresponding to a case where two precodingsare simultaneously applied can be acquired by replacing A and B withprecoding matrixes designated by the PMI₁ and the PMI₂. In calculatingthe CQI₁₂, the UE calculates the CQI based on an assumption that theprecoding acquired by applying the above equation to the precodingmatrixes designated by the PMI₁ and the PMI₂ is applied to the downlink.

Meanwhile, in the second feedback configuration of Table 2 above, thepart of the second feedback information is calculated and reported withreference to the part of the first feedback information, but the presentinvention is not limited thereto. That is, the FD-MIMO referencefeedback field may be configured as “FD-MIMO reference feedback:Feedback 2” in the first feedback configuration. In this event, the partof the first feedback information is configured to be calculated andreported with reference to the part of the second feedback information.In the first embodiment of the present invention, the eNB allocates therespective feedback configurations for vertical and horizontal channelsof FD-MIMO to the UE and inserts, into one of the two feedbackconfigurations, configuration information for generating feedbackinformation with reference to feedback information corresponding to theother feedback configuration, so as to allow the UE to generate the CQI(CQI₁₂) corresponding to the case where all the vertical and horizontalprecodings are applied and report the generated CQI to the eNB. That is,when a particular feedback configuration (feedback 2) includesconfiguration information (FD-MIMO reference feedback: Feedback 1) forgenerating feedback information with reference to feedback informationcorresponding to the other feedback configuration (feedback 1),aperiodic feedback report information of the UE is as follows.

-   -   RI: RI refers to rank information which the UE prefers with        respect to a channel measured by the CSI-RS for the        corresponding feedback configuration (feedback 2).    -   PMI: PMI refers to precoding matrix information which the UE        prefers with respect to a channel measured by the CSI-RS for the        corresponding feedback configuration (feedback 2).    -   CQI: CQI refers to channel quality information corresponding to        a case where all the precodings for the PMI reported on the        feedback configuration (feedback 1) for the reference and the        PMI reported on the corresponding feedback configuration        (feedback 2) are applied. That is, the corresponding CQI is        calculated based the following assumption:        -   Assumption of number of antenna ports (CSI-RS ports): a            product of a number of CSI-RS ports for the feedback            configuration (feedback 1) configured for the reference and            a number of CSI-RS ports for the corresponding feedback            configuration (feedback 2).        -   For reference, entire antenna ports (CSI-RS ports)            correspond to multiple antenna channels formed by a            Kronecker product of the CSI-RS ports for the feedback            configuration (feedback 1) configured for the reference and            the CSI-RS ports for the corresponding feedback            configuration (feedback 2).        -   Rank assumption: a product of a rank of an RI reported on            the feedback configuration (feedback 1) configured for the            reference and a rank of an RI reported on the corresponding            feedback configuration (feedback 2) at the same subframe.        -   Precoding matrix assumption: a precoding matrix formed by a            Kronecker product of precodings for a PMI reported on the            feedback configuration (feedback 1) for the reference and a            PMI reported on the corresponding feedback configuration            (feedback 2) at the same subframe.

In the first embodiment, like the second configuration (feedback 2),when a particular feedback configuration includes the configurationinformation (FD-MIMO reference feedback: Feedback 1) for generatingfeedback information with reference to feedback informationcorresponding to the other feedback configuration (feedback 1), arestriction may be placed to configure the same reporting mode withrespect to the feedback configuration (feedback 1) configured for thereference and the corresponding particular feedback (feedback 2) inorder to remove complexity of the additional UE operation.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 10 illustrates a method in which the UE transmits the RI, the PMI,and the CQI for two CSI-RSs through periodic feedback according to asecond embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 10, the feedback of the UE is set by the eNB through twofeedback configurations based on two CSI-RSs as shown in a method ofTable 2 and the UE reports channel status information on the twoCSI-RSs. One of the two feedback configurations includes configurationinformation for allowing the UE to calculate the CQI corresponding tothe case where all the vertical and horizontal precodings are applied,and thus the UE can perform feedback suitable for FD-MIMO. Since thesecond embodiment considers periodic feedback of the UE, feedback timinginformation for setting a report period and an offset for reporting theRI and PMI/CQI information is additionally included in Table 3. That is,the two feedback configurations for the two CSI-RSs of the eNB accordingto the second embodiment of the present invention may be configured byRRC information as shown in Table 3 below.

TABLE 3 First feedback Second configuration (Feedback 1) feedbackconfiguration (Feedback 2) CSI-RS information: CSI-RS-1 CSI-RSinformation: CSI-RS-2 Reporting mode Reporting mode Feedback timingFeedback timing PMI codebook information FD-MIMO reference feedback: EtcFeedback 1 Etc

The feedback configuration information of Table 3 is identical to andhave the same meanings as the feedback configuration information ofTable 2, other than the feedback timing information. That is, respectivefeedback information are set for two signals, such as CSI-RS-1 andCSI-RS-2, and the types of feedback information which the UEadditionally generates and feeds back are included as reporting orfeedback mode information. A configuration of the feedback mode may bedefined like a periodic feedback mode defined in LTE/LTE-A. Further,information on a set of precoding matrixes which can be used for thefeedback may be configured through PMI codebook information. Asdescribed in Table 1, when the PMI codebook information is not includedin the RRC information for the feedback, the UE recognizes that alldefined available precoding matrixes can be used for the feedback.Further, since one (feedback 2) of the two feedback configurationsincludes a configuration (FD-MIMO reference feedback: Feedback 1)indicating that the corresponding feedback information is calculatedwith reference to feedback information corresponding to the otherfeedback configuration (feedback 1), the eNB allows the UE to calculateand report a part of the second feedback information with reference to apart of the first feedback information.

A periodic feedback reporting operation of the UE of which two feedbackinformation are set by the eNB through the RRC information as shown inTable 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 10.

The UE generates and reports corresponding feedback informationaccording to corresponding periods and offsets with respect to twoperiodic feedback configurations allocated. At this time, since separatefeedback for the reference is not configured for the first feedbackinformation, the PMI₁ is precoding information on the most recentlyreported RI₁, which is the latest rank information corresponding to thecorresponding feedback configuration, and the CQI₁ is also generated andreported based on an assumption of the precoding of the PMI₁ mostrecently reported on the corresponding feedback configuration. Accordingto the configuration of Table 2, since the second feedback configurationis configured to generate the CQI with reference to the first feedbackinformation (FD-MIMO reference feedback: Feedback 1), the PMI₂ isprecoding information on the most recently reported RI₂, which is thelatest rank information corresponding to the second feedbackconfiguration, but the CQI₁₂ is calculated and reported as the CQIcorresponding to the case where all the precodings for the most recentlyreported PMI₁ and the most recently reported PMI₂ are applied withreference to the PMI₁ most recently reported on the first feedbackconfiguration for the reference as well as the PMI₂ most recentlyreported on the second feedback configuration. A definition of the CQIcorresponding to the case where a plurality of precodings are applied isthe same as that of the first embodiment.

-   -   RI: RI refers to rank information which the UE prefers with        respect to a channel measured by the CSI-RS for the        corresponding feedback configuration (feedback 2).    -   PMI: PMI refers to precoding matrix information which the UE        prefers with respect to a channel measured by the CSI-RS for the        corresponding feedback configuration (feedback 2).    -   CQI: CQI refers to channel quality information corresponding to        a case where all precodings for the PMI most recently reported        on the feedback configuration (feedback 1) for the reference and        the PMI most recently reported on the corresponding feedback        configuration (feedback 2) are applied. That is, the        corresponding CQI is calculated based the following assumption:    -   Assumption of number of antenna ports (CSI-RS ports): a product        of a number of CSI-RS ports for the feedback configuration        (feedback 1) configured for the reference and a number of CSI-RS        ports for the corresponding feedback configuration (feedback 2).    -   For reference, entire antenna ports (CSI-RS ports) correspond to        multiple antenna channels formed by a Kronecker product of the        CSI-RS ports for the feedback configuration (feedback 1)        configured for the reference and the CSI-RS ports for the        corresponding feedback configuration (feedback 2).    -   Precoding matrix assumption: a precoding matrix formed by a        Kronecker product of precodings for the PMI most recently        reported on the feedback configuration (feedback 1) configured        for the reference and the PMI most recently reported on the        corresponding feedback configuration (feedback 2).

In feedback of 8 CSI-RS ports in LTE-A, two PMIs determine one precodingmatrix for one feedback configuration. At this time, a first PMI and asecond PMI may be reported at different timings. Accordingly, when thefeedback configuration for the reference corresponds to the case of 8CSI-RS ports, the meaning of the recently reported PMI mentioned in theprecoding matrix assumption corresponds to the precoding matrixgenerated by a sum of the first PMI for the feedback configuration forthe reference and the second PMI.

Further, when particular PMI information is lost or the PMI for thereference does not exist since an initial report is not performed in aprocess of calculating the CQI corresponding to the case where all theprecodings for the PMI1 most recently reported on the feedbackconfiguration (feedback 1) for the reference and the PMI2 most recentlyreported on the corresponding feedback configuration (feedback 2) areapplied, the CQI may be calculated based on an assumption that the PMIinformation which does not exist has a particular predetermined PMIvalue. For example, the particular predetermined PMI value may be avalue corresponding to a precoding matrix having a smallest index amongavailable precoding matrixes.

As described in the first embodiment, like the second feedbackconfiguration (feedback 2), when a particular feedback configurationincludes the configuration information (FD-MIMO reference feedback:Feedback 1) for generating feedback information with reference tofeedback information corresponding to the other feedback configuration(feedback 1), a restriction may be placed to configure the samereporting mode with respect to the feedback configuration (feedback 1)for the reference and the corresponding particular feedbackconfiguration (feedback 2) in order to remove complexity of theadditional UE operation.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an order of operations of the eNBaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the eNB transmits a plurality of CSI-RS configurations(particularly, two CSI-RS configurations) to the UE in step S1210. TheCSI-RS configuration includes a location of a subframe where the CSI-RSis transmitted and a location of a resource where the CSI-RS is disposedin the corresponding subframe.

Further, the eNB transmits feedback configurations to the UE in stepS1220. The feedback configurations may include information shown inTable 2 and Table 3 according to each embodiment of the presentinvention. That is, the feedback configurations are reported on tworespective CSI-RSs, but one of the two feedback configurations may beconfigured to refer to information on the other feedback configuration.

The eNB transmits each of the two CSI-RSs to the UE in step S1230.

Then, the eNB receives feedback information transmitted from the UE at apredetermined timing in step S1240. In this event, the eNB receivesfeedback information including first feedback information according tothe first feedback configuration and second feedback informationaccording to the second feedback configuration from the UE. The secondfeedback information includes feedback information generated for asecond reference signal with reference to the first feedbackconfiguration, and the feedback information may include a CQI.

Further, when the feedback information is aperiodically received, theCQI included in the second feedback information is calculated based onan assumption that a number of entire antenna ports corresponds to aproduct of a number of reference signal ports for the first feedbackconfiguration information and a number of reference signal ports for thesecond feedback configuration information, a rank corresponds to aproduct of a rank indicator reported on the first feedback configurationinformation and a rank indicator reported on the second feedbackconfiguration information at the same feedback information receptiontiming, and a precoding matrix is formed by a Kronecker product ofprecoding for a precoding matrix index reported on the first feedbackconfiguration information and precoding of a precoding matrix indexreported on the second feedback configuration information at the samefeedback information reception timing.

In addition, when the feedback information is periodically received, theCQI is calculated based on an assumption that a number of entire antennaports corresponds to a product of a number of reference signal ports forthe first feedback configuration information and a number of referencesignal ports for the second feedback configuration information, and aprecoding matrix is formed by a Kronecker product of precoding for aprecoding matrix index most recently reported on the first feedbackconfiguration information and precoding for a precoding matrix indexmost recently reported on the second feedback configuration information.

The eNB processes the feedback information received from the UE andtransmits data to the UE based on a processing result in step S1250.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an order of operations of the UEaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the UE receives a plurality of CSI-RS configurations from the eNBin step S1310. The CSI-RS configuration includes a location of asubframe where the CSI-RS is transmitted and a location of a resourcewhere the CSI-RS is disposed in the corresponding subframe.

Further, the UE receives feedback configurations from the eNB in stepS1320. The feedback configurations may include information shown inTable 2 and Table 3 according to each embodiment of the presentinvention. According to an embodiment of the present invention, one ofthe two feedback configurations may be configured to refer to the otherfeedback configuration.

The UE receives each of the two CSI-RSs from the eNB in step S1330.

Then, the UE generates feedback information according to the receivedfeedback configurations in step S1340. In this event, the UE generatesfeedback information including first feedback information according tothe first feedback configuration and second feedback informationaccording to the second feedback configuration. The second feedbackinformation includes feedback information generated for a secondreference signal with reference to the first feedback configuration andthe feedback information may include a CQI.

When the feedback information is aperiodically transmitted, the CQI iscalculated based on an assumption that a number of entire antenna portscorresponds to a product of a number of reference signal ports for thefirst feedback configuration information and a number of referencesignal ports for the second feedback configuration information, a rankcorresponds to a product of a rank indicator reported on the firstfeedback configuration information and a rank indicator reported on thesecond feedback configuration information at the same feedbackinformation reception timing, and a precoding matrix is formed by aKronecker product of precoding for a precoding matrix index reported onthe first feedback configuration information and precoding of aprecoding matrix index reported on the second feedback configurationinformation at the same feedback information reception timing.

Further, when the feedback information is periodically transmitted, theCQI is calculated based on an assumption that a number of entire antennaports corresponds to a number of reference signal ports for the firstfeedback configuration information and a number of reference signalports for the second feedback configuration information, and a precodingmatrix is formed by a Kronecker product of precoding for a precodingmatrix index most recently reported on the first feedback configurationinformation and precoding for a precoding matrix index most recentlyreported on the second feedback configuration information.

The UE transmits feedback information to the eNB at a timing set by thefeedback configuration in step S1350. Further, the UE receives datatransmitted from the eNB and processes the received data in step S1360.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an internal structure of the UEaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.13, the UE includes a communication unit 1410 and a controller 1420.

The communication unit 1410 performs a function of transmitting orreceiving data from the outside (for example, eNB). The communicationunit 1410 transmits feedback information for an FD-MIMO technique to theeNB under a control of the controller 1420.

The controller 1420 controls states and operations of all componentsincluded in the UE. The controller 1420 generates feedback informationfor FD-MIMO according to information received from the current eNB andfeeds back generated channel information to the eNB according to timinginformation received from the eNB. To this end, the controller 1420includes a channel estimation unit 1430.

The channel estimation unit 1430 determines required feedbackinformation through the CSI-RSs and feedback allocation informationreceived from the eNB and estimates channels by using the receivedCSI-RSs.

Although it has been described herein that the UE includes only thecommunication unit 1410 and the controller 1420, the present inventionis not limited thereto. That is, the UE may further include variouscomponents according to functions performed by the UE. For example, theUE may include a display unit for displaying a current state of the UE,an input unit for receiving a signal, such as function performance, froma user, and a storage unit for storing data generated in the UE.

Further, although it has been described that the controller 1420 and thechannel estimation unit 1430 are configured as separated blocks, thepresent invention is not limited thereto. For example, the controller1420 may perform a function of the channel estimation unit 1430.

The controller 1420 controls to receive configuration information fortwo or more reference signals from the eNB. Further, the controller 1420controls to measure the two or more reference signals and receivefeedback configurations for generating feedback information according toa result of the measurement from the eNB. Thereafter, the controller1420 receives the two or more reference signals from the eNB, measuresthe received two or more reference signals, and generates feedbackinformation according to the feedback configurations. Further, thecontroller 1420 controls to transmit the generated feedback informationto the eNB at a feedback timing according to the feedback configuration.

In this event, the feedback configurations may include at least one ofinformation indicating that the first reference signal corresponds tofirst channel information and the second reference signal corresponds tosecond channel information, configuration information indicating thatsecond feedback information is calculated with reference to firstfeedback information, and a feedback timing related parameter as shownin Tables 2 and 3.

Further, feedback information may include at least one of a first rankindicator (RI1) generated in accordance with the first reference signal,a second rank indicator (RI2) generated in accordance with the secondreference signal, a first precoding matrix indicator (PMI1) generated inaccordance with the first reference signal, a second precoding matrixindicator (PMI2) generated in accordance with the second referencesignal, and a channel quality indicator (CQI12) generated inconsideration of first precoding generated by the first rank indicatorand the first precoding matrix indicator and second precoding generatedby the second rank indicator and the second precoding matrix indicator.

Meanwhile, in an embodiment of the present invention, the CQI generatedby the UE corresponds to a Kronecker product of a first precoding matrixindicated by the first precoding matrix indicator and a second precodingmatrix indicated by the second precoding matrix indicator.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating an internal structure of the eNBaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.14, the eNB includes a controller 1510 and a communication unit 1520.

The controller 1510 controls states and operations of all componentsincluded in the eNB. The controller 1510 allocates CSI-RS resources forestimating horizontal and vertical component channels of the UE andallocates feedback resources and feedback timing. To this end, thecontroller 1510 further includes a resource allocation unit 1530.

The resource allocation unit 1530 allocates CSI-RS to respectiveresources to allow the UE to estimate each of the vertical andhorizontal component channels and transmits the CSI-RSs by using thecorresponding resources. Further, in order to avoid a conflict amongfeedbacks of several UEs, the eNB allocates feedback configurations andfeedback timings, and receives and analyzes feedback information at thecorresponding timing.

The communication unit 1520 performs a function oftransmitting/receiving data, reference signals and feedback informationto/from the UE. The communication unit 1520 transmits CSI-RSs throughallocated resources and receives feedback of channel information fromthe UE under a control of the controller 1510.

Although it has been described that the controller 1510 and the resourceallocation unit 1530 are configured as separated blocks, the presentinvention is not limited thereto. For example, the controller 1510 mayperform a function of the resource allocation unit 1530. In this event,the controller 1510 controls to transmit configuration information ontwo or more reference signals to the UE, measures the two or morereference signals, and transmits feedback configurations for generatingfeedback information according to a result of the measurement to the UE.

Further, the controller 1510 controls to transmit the two or morereference signals to the UE and receives feedback informationtransmitted from the UE at a feedback timing according to the feedbackconfiguration.

According to the embodiments of the present invention described above,it is possible to prevent the eNB having a large number of transmissionantennas like in FD-MIMO from allocating excessive resources whenCSI-RSs are transmitted, and the UE can effectively measure channels ofthe large number of transmission antennas, configure feedbackinformation of the channels, and transmit the feedback information tothe eNB.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference tocertain embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled inthe art that various changes in form and detail may be made thereinwithout departing form the spirit and scope of the invention as definedby the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method in a mobile communication system, themethod comprising: transmitting a configuration message including atleast one channel status indication reference signal (CSI-RS) resourceconfiguration; and receiving a feedback message including a channelquality indicator (CQI), wherein the CQI is generated using at least twoCSI-RS resource configurations when the configuration message includes atype of multiple input multiple output (MIMO).
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the feedback message further includes a rank indicator and aprecoding matrix indicator, the precoding matrix indicator beingdetermined based on codebook information associated with the type ofMIMO included in the configuration message.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the at least one CSI-RS resource configuration is associatedwith a number of antenna ports.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein anumber of antenna ports associated with the CQI is determined based on anumber of antenna ports associated with the at least two CSI-RS resourceconfigurations.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein the precoding matrixindicator is selected within precoding matrixes defined by the codebookinformation.
 6. A method in a mobile communication system, the methodcomprising: receiving a configuration message including at least onechannel status indication reference signal (CSI-RS) resourceconfiguration; and transmitting a feedback message including a channelquality indicator (CQI), wherein the CQI is generated using at least twoCSI-RS resource configurations when the configuration message includes atype of multiple input multiple output (MIMO).
 7. The method of claim 6,wherein the feedback message further includes a rank indicator and aprecoding matrix indicator, the precoding matrix indicator beingdetermined based on codebook information associated with the type ofMIMO included in the configuration message.
 8. The method of claim 6,wherein the at least one CSI-RS resource configuration is associatedwith a number of antenna ports.
 9. The method of claim 6, wherein anumber of antenna ports associated with the CQI is determined based on anumber of antenna ports associated with the at least two CSI-RS resourceconfigurations.
 10. The method of claim 7, wherein the precoding matrixindicator is selected within precoding matrixes defined by the codebookinformation.
 11. An evolved Node B (eNB) in a mobile communicationsystem, the eNB comprising: a transceiver for transmitting and receivingsignals; and a controller configured to: transmit a configurationmessage including at least one channel status indication referencesignal (CSI-RS) resource configuration, and receive a feedback messageincluding a channel quality indicator (CQI), wherein the CQI isgenerated using at least two CSI-RS resource configurations when theconfiguration message includes a type of multiple input multiple output(MIMO).
 12. The eNB of claim 11, wherein the feedback message furtherincludes a rank indicator and a precoding matrix indicator, theprecoding matrix indicator being determined based on codebookinformation associated with the type of MIMO included in theconfiguration message.
 13. The eNB of claim 11, wherein the at least oneCSI-RS resource configuration is associated with a number of antennaports.
 14. The eNB of claim 11, wherein a number of antenna portsassociated with the CQI is determined based on a number of antenna portsassociated with the at least two CSI-RS resource configurations.
 15. TheeNB of claim 12, wherein the precoding matrix indicator is selectedwithin precoding matrixes defined by the codebook information.
 16. Auser equipment (UE) in a mobile communication system, the UE comprising:a transceiver for transmitting and receiving signals; and a controllerconfigured: receive a configuration message including at least onechannel status indication reference signal (CSI-RS) resourceconfiguration, and transmit a feedback message including a channelquality indicator (CQI), wherein the CQI is generated using at least twoCSI-RS resource configurations when the configuration message includes atype of multiple input multiple output (MIMO).
 17. The UE of claim 16,wherein the feedback message further includes a rank indicator and aprecoding matrix indicator, the precoding matrix indicator beingdetermined based on codebook information associated with the type ofMIMO included in the configuration message.
 18. The UE of claim 16,wherein the at least one CSI-RS resource configuration is associatedwith a number of antenna ports.
 19. The UE of claim 16, wherein a numberof antenna ports associated with the CQI is determined based on a numberof antenna ports associated with the at least two CSI-RS resourceconfigurations.
 20. The UE of claim 17, wherein the precoding matrixindicator is selected within precoding matrixes defined by the codebookinformation.